


James Dean Wannabe

by Myalpha



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Australian spelling - sorry not sorry, Ficlet, M/M, Rebellious Stiles, Ridiculous boys refusing to talk about their feelings, Tumblr Prompt, Warning: the author is not American and everything she knows about James Dean is from google
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-19
Updated: 2013-08-19
Packaged: 2017-12-24 00:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/933085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myalpha/pseuds/Myalpha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From a prompt on Tumblr: Derek's thoughts on Stiles in a random teenage rebellious stage.</p><p>Except it kinda devolved into sap by the end, I'm sorry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	James Dean Wannabe

**Author's Note:**

> Note: brief mentions of events in e3.11 but no spoilers for the finale.

Most people take one glance at Derek Hale and see teenage rebellions' leather-wrapped posterboy, and for good reason. The leather jacket, the entire wardrobe consisting only of shades and not colours, the lurking around derelict buildings with a group of teenagers, the frankly terrifyingly reckless driving. He'd be the first one to tell you, however, none of that was really who Derek was. He wasn't just some James Dean wannabe.

So maybe he had the whole “mediocre but popular high school student who was a star athlete” part covered. Also the loner part... Also the rude and surly public demeanour part. And thats not even getting started on the whole bisexual rumour. Okay so maybe he was just maybe a little bit more similar to James Dean than he'd let himself realise. But that doesn't mean he's to blame for the whole mess with Stiles.

Derek is sure that, from the Sheriff's point of view, it would have already looked like Stiles was going through a fit of teenage rebellion. Well, pre forced-disclosure at the hands of an evil druid that is. There is only so many times your kid can fail to come home from school all night, or sneak out in the early hours of the morning, and come back with bruises and scrapes and dark circles under his eyes before even the best excuses and explanations just aren't gonna cut it anymore, after all. 

Derek still has his suspicions that the Sheriff still thinks the whole, 'Stiles insisting on staying connected to the werewolf pack' affair is merely a form of teenage rebellion. But he'd be wrong. 

Derek knows because he's forced to watch the whole mess. He bets Sheriff Stilinski never would've guessed it could get worse. For a certain definition of worse, anyway – he supposes at least the kid wasn't actually in mortal danger this time.

In some ways, however, Derek feels like this is worse. It kills him inside every time Isaac reports back saying that Stiles ditched school again. Ditching school for werewolf stuff was kind of par for the course really, a hazard of the job, even the Sheriff might reluctantly agree to that. But this was different, worse, because this had nothing to do with werewolf stuff. It had nothing to do with anything really – Stiles'd mostly just wander aimlessly around town on his own, perhaps laze around in a park or kill time on his laptop in the library. Derek knows all of this. From completely legitimate, totally-not-stalking-Stiles sources... (okay so maybe he followed Stiles once or twice – or nearly every time – after receiving a text message from Isaac letting him know Stiles wasn't in homeroom again).

And after dark? Derek just can't even comprehend it. Fake ID's? Drinking? Attempting to flirt with guys at the gay club they went to that one time they were hunting down Jackson-as-the-Kanima? Derek is almost at his wits end. He can't just growl and threaten Stiles into submission the way he can with his betas, and nor can he solve a problem Stiles won't talk to anyone about.

Derek knows the Sheriff blames him, knows he thinks this is all werewolf business and its Derek forcing Stiles out of school, and Derek keeping him out all night, but thats not true. It does make it damn awkward though, whenever they run into each other around town, the Sheriff intimidatingly warning Derek that he'd better be keeping Stiles safe, and Derek pressing his lips tighter together than usual to avoid accidentally confronting the Sheriff on what's really up with Stiles. Because if there's one think Derek knows for sure, its that going behind Stiles' back to his dad is a sure way to never secure the boy's trust ever again.

It's after one such confrontation between him and Sheriff Stilinski however, following Stiles' coming home at 3am the night before sporting a limp, busted lip and black eye, that Derek realises he can't stand by any longer. He was sick of standing idly by while Stiles jeopardised his future. It made him so angry, the idea that Stiles' was so goddamn smart, could literally have his pick of any college he wanted if he so chose, had a shot at a future Derek never even got a chance to have, and the damn fool's throwing it all away. He fills with rage at the thought of someone else injuring his pack, marking them with blood and bruises, without Derek even having the chance to fight back and protect them.

So the next time he gets a text telling him Stiles' is missing school, the anger flares to the surface. He tracks the teen to the park he seems to favour, marches right up to the tree he's sitting under, grabs him by the shoulders, hauls him upright and slams his back into the tree.

“Ooooff” Stiles grunts out as his back connects with the trunk, and then an halfheartedly-snarky “well hello to you too, sunshine”. 

“Don't you care what you are doing to your father, your friends, your pack?” Derek growled, his eyes flashing red with anger, “Does it make you happy to know you are causing others pain?”

“Wow, sourwolf,” Stiles snarks, a bitter grin on his face, “that's the most you've said to me in weeks”.

Derek pauses for a second, his brain desperately trying to catch up and yet still failing to understand. “What do you mean. You've never tried to talk to me. You're never at pack meetings, you're barely ever at home. How would I even know where to find you in order to talk to you.”

“Well you seem to have the knowing-where-to-find-me thing pretty down pat from where I'm standing,” the teen snaps. He pauses, collecting his strength before continuing with “and anyway, its like you think I'm an idiot. I know you've been stalking me. I may be a human, but I'd be a pretty lousy pack-member if I couldn't even recognise my own goddamn Alpha lurking around me”

“You haven't exactly been very approachable', Derek snapped back defensively.

“That's not the point and you know it.” Stiles practically yelled, “the point is it looked like you trusted me, like you cared about me, like we genuinely were headed towards having a shot at something. You made me feel like I had a shot with you – you know damn well how I felt about you, you can smell it I know – and then what happens? The imminent threat of death was over and you back the fuck off like there's no tomorrow?!”

Derek releases his grip on Stiles' shoulders, and the teen slides down the tree trunk until he's sprawled on the grassy roots at the base of the tree. Slumping down next to him, Derek sighs and runs his fingers through his hair anxiously.

“Look,” he finally says, after a long uncomfortable silence, “I'm sorry”. And damned if that something Derek never expected he'd say to the teen when he first found him trespassing over a year ago.

Stiles opens his mouth as if to speak, or possibly to argue or question, but Derek continued quickly before he could take the opportunity. “I trust, and have trusted you, with my life. More importantly, I trusted you with Cora's life. All those touches, those meaningful glances at the hospital that night, and even before that, you're right, they did mean something. But you have to understand, I distanced myself out of care for you.”

Stiles blinked, some of his anger and frustration fading into sullenness “Oh god, if this is one of those, 'it's not you, its me' speeches, just save it. I'm not interested in your self-deprecating pity party”.

“No,” Derek growled, frustrated at how stubborn the stupid teen was being, “this is one of those 'what part of 'you're sixteen' do you not understand?' things. I can't let myself get close to you. I shouldn't have let myself get as close to you as I already have”.

Stiles cracked a halfhearted grin, “so you're telling me I'm old enough to decide to sacrifice myself to prevent a dark magic ritual, but not old enough to choose my own boyfriend?”

Derek sighed “Yes. That's exactly what I'm telling you. Your father is the Sheriff. How would it look for his only son to be dating not only an older man but a two-time former murder suspect?”

“Lets get real here, dude, how does it look for the Sheriff's only son to be skipping school, drinking, and partying at bars all night?” Stiles countered.

Despite himself, Derek couldn't help but admit the kid had a point. Derek himself wasn't ashamed to acknowledge he'd feel a whole lot better knowing that Stiles' was safe with him rather than getting taken advantage of or beaten up in an alley or something. Plus, Derek couldn't help but think, maybe just this once he could be a good influence instead of a bad one: get Stiles' grades back up, maybe encourage him to get into a good college...

Exhaling the last of his pent-up tension, Derek leant in closer to the teen, cradling Stiles' neck gently with one of his hands, the other hand resting on his shoulder. Their faces were close now, mere inches apart. Derek looked down at the teen's mouth hesitantly, before flicking his gaze up to his face. The tiny flicker of hope Derek saw in his eyes was enough to seal the decision. He brought their lips together in a chaste kiss, their mutual anger, frustration and hurt fading away as Stiles responded, tracing his tongue along Derek's lips causing him to finally part his lips and deepen the kiss. 

After a minute or two Stiles pulled away and asked, wearing the widest grin Derek had seen on him for weeks, “does that mean we're giving this a shot”.

In that moment, Derek couldn't care less about the consequences. Whatever happened, whatever the fallout, it was worth it to see that smile, and to once again see the spark of hope for a brighter future in Stiles' eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr (becauseyouaremyalpha) for more awesomeness if you'd like.


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